Here’s a wonderful Billy Joel track first released on 1976’s Turnstiles and later on the 1981 live compilation Songs in the Attic (that’s the version featured here).
Turnstiles was written after Joel left Los Angeles to return to his native New York and exercise more control over his music (he produced the album himself). That move is reflected in such titles as ‘New York State of Mind’ and ‘Say Goodbye to Hollywood.’ On this track, he admits that, while it’s time for him to move on, he’ll have fond memories of his life in L.A.
On a side note, one commenter on the YouTube page of this song says that it was his high school graduation class song. I wonder how the references to fine cocaine went over, even in 1983.
And spend our nights so bon vivant
We dress our days in silken robes
The money comes
The money goes
We know it’s all a passing phase
We light our lamps for atmosphere
And hang our hopes on chandeliers
We’re going wrong, we’re gaining weight
We’re sleeping long and far too late
And so it’s time to change our ways
But I’ve loved these days
Now as we indulge in things refined
We hide our hearts from harder times
A string of pearls, a foreign car
Oh we can only go so far
On caviar and cabernet
We drown our doubts in dry champagne
And soothe our souls with fine cocaine
I don’t know why I even care
We’ll get so high and get nowhere
We’ll have to change our jaded ways
But I’ve loved these days
So before we end and then begin
We’ll drink a toast to how it’s been
A few more hours to be complete
A few more nights on satin sheets
A few more times that I can say
I’ve loved these days
Meet Me In Montauk 
Have you never heard the story about how I was among a small group in my high school pushing for this to be our class song rather than what had been chosen, which was the dreadfully sappy “We’ve Only Just Begun” by the Carpenters? We lost that battle in no small part due to my future wife and your sister’s best friend Kim’s fervent opposition.
Looking back now, I get that the cocaine reference may have been an appropriate disqualifier, but I still love the song and still hate “We’ve Only Just Begun.”
I love it! No, I hadn’t heard that story. Definitely a better choice than ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’!
Awful Awful Awful, so sorry you lost that battle 🙂 I never heard this story either